If a corporate device gets lost or stolen, or if you want to reassign it to another employee, the right way to prevent a data leak is to wipe the device.
WAY offers the option to easily wipe a managed device from the device detail page.
Clicking the WIPE ALL DATA button does NOT immediately wipe all data from the device. There is an additional security step you have to take:
You have to type out the word DELETE in all caps before clicking the CONFIRM button.
Once the CONFIRM button has been clicked, the wipe can't be stopped.
All Windows and Android devices as well as Apple devices not bought or rented through WAY will not automatically reconnect to WAY's device management. These devices have to be reconnected manually. After they have been set up.
What Happens on the Device?
A device has to be connected to the internet to be able to receive the WIPE command.
When the device receives the WIPE command, it will delete all corporate and personal data. The specifics differ from platform to platform:
Macs built 2017 or earlier do not support the WIPE command, use the Lock Device with PIN command instead.
Macs built 2018 and after will wipe all data and reboot into an activation screen.
A Wi-Fi network has to be selected in the top right of the menu bar.
The Mac will check with Apple if the device is allowed to activate.
Activation can be blocked, if the previous user activated the Activation Lock feature (happens automatically when using a private Apple ID), before the device was connected to WAY. This feature is used to prevent thieves from using a stolen Mac.
If the device is activation locked, please contact WAY support.
iPhones/iPads will wipe all data and reboot into the setup assistant (like a newly bought device). After connecting the device to the internet, it will check with Apple if the device is allowed to activate.
Activation can be blocked, if the previous user activated the Activation Lock feature (happens automatically when using a private Apple ID), before the device was connected to WAY. This feature is used to prevent thieves from using a stolen iPhones/iPads.
If the device is activation locked, please contact WAY support.Windows devices will wipe all data and try to reinstall the operating system. Once completed, the device will boot into Window's Out-Of-Box-Experience (like a newly bought device).
Android devices will wipe all data and reboot into the setup assistant (like a newly bought device.
How To Prevent Activation Lock on Apple Devices?
Apple devices are activation locked when the previous user enabled the "Find My" feature with a personal Apple ID. The "Find My" feature is a theft protection feature and gets enabled automatically, when signing in to a private Apple ID.
If the device was managed by WAY at the time the user enabled "Find My", WAY can provide an "MDM Bypass Code" which will allow you to disable the activation lock, please contact WAY support to receive it.
To prevent running into activation lock, users should use the "Erase all content and settings" feature on their device, it will always disable the activation lock.
If a user didn't remove the activation lock before the device was wiped, turn off the device so it is unreachable from the internet. Now you can ask the user to visit "Find My" on icloud.com/find. There, the user can remove the device from their Apple ID account, which disables the activation lock.
If the user can't be reached or is uncooperative, you will have to contact Apple's hotline and proof you are the legitimate owner of the device by proving providing the device's invoice.